Dr David Corcoran

David Corcoran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Limerick, specializing in statistical and non-linear physics with a particular focus on complex systems. His research spans computational and statistical physics, with earlier contributions to astronomy and astrophysics. He has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Physical Review Letters, and Langmuir.

Dr Corcoran's research interests include statistical physics, phase transitions, nucleation, criticality, non-linear physics, chaos, evolutionary optimization, and genetic algorithms. He has collaborated with leading institutions such as Cambridge University, the  Max Planck Institute for Complex Systems in Dresden, and the CNR-Institute of Complex Systems in Rome. His work has practical applications in fields like earthquake dynamics, electromigration in microelectronic interconnects, and pattern formation for next-generation lithography.

Recently, Dr Corcoran has been investigating the origin of spiral arms in galaxies. In collaboration with Dr Ian Clancy, postgraduate student Alanna Fox, and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, he is exploring whether spiral arm formation is driven by self-organization at a critical phase transition. The team is testing this hypothesis through observational data and statistical characterization of a large sample of nearby galaxies.

Throughout his career, Dr Corcoran has supervised eight PhD and three MSc research students. At the University of Limerick, he teaches courses in general physics, optics, and earth science. He also held leadership roles as Head of the Department of Physics (2005–2011, 2014–2021) and Head of the School of Natural Sciences (2018–2021).

Dr Corcoran continues to contribute to the advancement of physics, fostering collaborations and guiding research at the intersection of computation, complexity, and astrophysics.